She Of The Black Rose
by Ukyou Kuonji
Summary: A crossover with Ranma 1/2. Did you know? Have you heard the news? There's a new student at Ohtori Academy... and roses are her calling card, too. Will she duel? Does she want the Power? Will she play by the rules? Unfinished
1. Default Chapter

Now, I made a go at a fusion of these two before, but I don't fit into the madhouse that is Ohtori Academy *nearly* as well as one of my rivals...  
  
So I'm sending her there to see how she fares.  
  
This is, by the way, beyond the sections that Software Sculptors has brought across thus far, but bear with it. There won't be any significant spoilers (heck, there ain't much to spoil - it's *that* confusing, if you ask me)  
  
==========  
  
"Onii-sama!"  
  
An index finger, feminine and delicate, nail painted black, in the firm grip of a masculine hand, pressed down upon the page.  
  
Her fingerprint. Briefly, she considered smearing it so that the print would be unrecognizable. But she rejected that as futile. It wasn't as if the records department checked the individual loops and whorls of each print. What mattered was that an imprint was there, and not whose it really was or how it got put there.  
  
Under duress and under protest. That's how she was going. But she *was* going. The Catholic reform school had done her no good, so she was being shipped away. "It is for your own good, sister," were his very words, deep and terrible, like the very abyss itself.  
  
No, it wasn't! He was just shoving her out of the way so he could pursue that awful red-haired witch! And he was *ruining* her chances at her dear Ranma-sama! She beat on his chest with her fists, but her brother stood firm, impassive. Finally, his hand reached out and grabbed her wrists.  
  
"That hurt, you know." His voice was flat and lifeless, as if to suggest just the opposite of his words. His words held a dangerous edge, though... a suggestion that he could quite easily return the favor as she squirmed in his grip.  
  
"Grrr... let me go, brother!"  
  
"No. Not until I see you off to your new school. Then, believe me, I will be *glad* to let go of you... permanently. I have had it with your interference."  
  
"And I have had it with yours! What makes you think you have any right to do this to me?"  
  
"Because..." and he brought his face within inches of hers. She could bite his nose off, if she dared, from this distance. "Mother is dead, Father is a gibbering imbecile, and you..." he pulled away, drawing himself to his full height and assuming a disdainful countenance, "are dangerously close to imitating one of our parents, I know not which. This should prevent that, or at least stave it off. What Saint Hebereke failed to do, Ohtori should accomplish. They know how to keep students *in*line* down here."  
  
"Oh, and *you* have no need of being kept *in*line*. *You* are a shining pillar of sanity, the glory of the Kuno clan," she fairly spat at him, still struggling in his grip.  
  
He tilted his face slightly, so that he was looking at her, but clearly looking down at her. "I am the closest the Kuno name has for now. And *that* is why I can do this, sister. And that is why I *shall*..."  
  
Kodachi Kuno continued to writhe in her brother's grip as they walked out of the vaulted admissions office. The white-haired young man behind the desk had not so much as glanced as the squabbling pair, devoting his attention completely to his computer.  
  
But as the door slammed behind them, Mikage Souji allowed himself a slight smile...  
  
The way before him had been prepared...  
  
---------------------  
SHE OF THE BLACK ROSE  
a Utena - Ranma 1/2 crossover  
by Ukyou Kuonji  
---------------------  
  
In the depths of Nemuro Memorial Hall at Ohtori Academy, a dim blue light flickered on, breaking the Stygian darkness. The light fell from somewhere above, but from no visible source. The one-meter-by-two-meter space the light fell upon was occupied by a large glass tank, barely half full of water.  
  
In the middle of the water stood a single black rosebud.  
  
A dark-skinned face looked down upon the rosebud, and slowly broke into a smile.  
  
***  
  
She stood, alone, in the middle of the room. Her room, for as long as she could stand it here. It was empty aside from the few articles of furniture it came with, and they were still swathed in sheets yet.  
  
Tatewaki-oniisama had already left, taking the car with him. She was effectively marooned here at Ohtori Academy. How could he do such a thing?   
  
An embarrassment, that's what he said she was. An interference. Couldn't he see she was trying to rescue him from that awful, low-born, low-bred, pig-tailed wench?  
  
And this was gratitude. Abandoned countless prefectures from Tokyo and home. Oh, it was a pretty enough place... it certainly held her class of people... why, it was even co-educational! But for all the boys here, there would be no Ranma-sama. And that made all the difference.  
  
A tear ran down her cheek and splashed onto the wood floor. She did not notice the pattern the impact had made.  
  
The stain was like a blossoming rose...  
  
***  
  
"U-ten-a!"  
  
The pink-haired girl froze. She knew what was coming, and had to brace herself for it before...  
  
*whoomph* Too late. Utena staggered slightly under Wakaba's weight, before steadying herself enough to turn and look at her friend. "It this really necessary, Wakaba?"  
  
"Hn? But of *course* it is! I've got to show the *world* how much I love my Utena-sama!" Wakaba's embrace was like a death grip, and Utena found herself wondering if there still wasn't a better way for Wakaba to express her affection. Or at least a safer one...  
  
Finally, after all of thirty seconds, Wakaba let go of her friend and dropped to the floor. Utena took the opportunity to take a deep gulp of air before sighing heavily.  
  
"Really, Utena-sama, you need to drink more milk! Look at you, you're all stooped over!"  
  
"Gee... I wonder how that happened." Utena stretched herself up to her full height.  
  
If Wakaba noticed the mild sarcasm in the question - or if she even noticed the question at all - she gave no indication of it. "Ne, ne, did you hear about the new girl on the gymnastics team?"  
  
"Gymnastics team?" Was this another dig about her sore back?  
  
"Oh, yeah... she just transferred in from Tokyo, would you believe, and she's really good. They say she's very competitive, too... we'll be a cinch to win regionals this year, maybe even a shot at the nationals!"  
  
"Is that so... ?"  
  
***  
  
Graceful hands, still polished black at the tips, gripped the beam tightly. Directly above them, arms rigid and unmoving as stone, Kodachi slowly scissored her legs out into a perfect split, then returned to a vertical handstand. Her back arched as she brought her feet to bear on edge of the beam. Upon regaining her footing, she spun around and concentrated on her dismount.  
  
*tup*tup*tup*pm* A handspring at full gallop, and then she pushed off with her hands, willing herself to spin as she somersaulted off the beam.  
  
*pbsh* She landed, toes first, in a slightly crouched position, before springing to a full victory stance. Her trademark laugh, which terrified Heberekens and opponents alike back home, was drowned out by the applause of her new classmates.  
  
"Well done, Miss Kuno." The coach walked up to her, shaking his head. "I don't know if there's anything more I can teach you. Where did you say you transferred from? Saint...?"  
  
"Hebereke."  
  
"Riight," The man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "They must have one hell of a program up there."  
  
Kodachi very nearly blushed. "Well, they had one of the best teams in Tokyo..." But then I left...  
  
"Perhaps, after school, you could show us more of your skills. I think you have a lot to teach the other girls, and if they can learn, we may be able to do Ohtori proud at regionals... don't you think?" That last was addressed to the girls sitting around the balance beam, awe in their faces, and a respectful murmur went up in affirmation.  
  
Kodachi beamed at the welcome she was getting from these girls. She hated to admit that her brother could ever possibly be right, but just maybe he wasn't as wrong as she first thought.  
  
***  
  
"Sempai... look."  
  
Face illuminated from beneath by the mysterious glow of the hydroponic tank, Mikage Souji arched an eyebrow. "Where did that one come from? I thought we were down to one..."  
  
The dark-skinned youth looked up from the black rosebud floating in the tank. "You should know, sempai. You know who comes and goes in Ohtori better than anyone. Surely you've met her."  
  
"A new Duellist?"  
  
"But of course."  
  
"You know that Tenjou has fought each of the Council at least twice, now. And beaten them all." The youth arched an eyebrow at Mikage's statement, but the older student continued. "Oh, come now, Mamiya. Don't tell me that the Duellists we recruited were anything more than shadows of the Council members whose soul-swords they wielded. The time has come to find someone with unfamiliar skills..."  
  
"And catch Tenjou Utena off guard, ne? Very clever, sempai..." Mamiya resumed staring at the rosebud, "...if it works."  
  
A petal peeled itself from the rosebud, and landed gently on the water's surface. The two boys blinked at the fallen petal before turning to face each other with somewhat worried expressions.  
  
***  
  
"You want me to lead a gymnastics seminar? I'd... be happy to, sensei..." Kodachi's smile both widened and grew slightly crooked. Why had she chosen those words? Was she really, actually *happy*?  
  
She felt a slight twinge, as though her insides were being pricked by thorns. Her smile metamorphosed into a wince, and then a grimace.  
  
"Ah... could we schedule it for possibly next week, though, instead?"  
  
***  
  
Deep in the bowels of Nemuro Memorial Hall, the outer petals began peeling away from the bud... but they remained clutching to the base of the flower.  
  
The rose was about to bloom.  
  
The two boys looked at each other once again, and grinned.  
  
***  
  
"OHH-HOHOHOHOHO!!" Kodachi bounded out of the gymnasium, exultant despite her earlier pain. A spray of black roses followed in her wake. Fortunately, she had been the last to leave, so there were no other students to alarm with her antics - not that that was ever a concern before.  
  
She had found a niche for herself here, in only a few short days. It was nice to have a unique skill...  
  
Speaking of which, she recalled there being a greenhouse somewhere in the quad, according to the brochures. It would behoove her to pay the place a visit, and add her own... special touches... to it. 


	2. part 2

"What's the matter, Utena-sama?" Wakaba was a little concerned. Sure, her bento wasn't the most artistic or tastiest in class, but as far as she was concerned, it was pretty damn good. Utena-sama should be pleased to accept it. But no, she had to keep staring off into space like this. You'd think something was wrong.  
  
For her part, Utena barely noticed her friend's question; indeed, until Wakaba petulantly dropped the bento box smack into her lap, Utena had forgotten she was there. Her attention brought to bear on her friend's presence (although her eyes and and hands were now intent on picking up loose grains of rice), Utena sighed heavily. You'd think nothing had happened between the two of them, the way Wakaba was acting.  
  
Utena turned to look at her friend. Concern was etched across Wakaba's face. Another sigh escaped the duellist's lips... it was clear that as far as Wakaba remembered, everything really was the way it always had been.  
  
But she couldn't shake from her mind's eye the look of hatred she had seen on her friend not so long ago. Wakaba had wanted to hurt her... and *kill* Anthy. What had possessed her so?   
  
Utena marvelled, too, at how quickly her friend had been restored. She forced herself to smile at Wakaba. "I'm sorry... it's just that things have been getting a little out of control lately..." Well, at least *that's* true enough, she thought to herself.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Utena could see Wakaba smile as she dug into the bento. "Oh, that's all right, I know how it is sometimes, between all those teachers who each think you've got no other classes than theirs, so you have all the time in the world to work on the homework *they* assign you, and then there's all those clubs - and of course, *you've* been having to do a lot with the student council lately..." Utena smiled and nodded as Wakaba's monologue dissolved into so much background noise. Somehow, she had forgotten it all... all the bitterness, all the hatred. She *had* to have... Wakaba was a rotten liar.  
  
Utena munched her friend's rice pensively, and wondered when *she* would be able to forget... and where the *next* challenge would be coming from...  
  
***  
  
"Ch-uu, ch-uu."  
  
It's not a pleasant experience to get a frog's tongue across your face. Even less so when you're no bigger than said frog, so that much more of your face gets pasted by it. Chuchu was busily rubbing his eyes and spitting out frog saliva, the most recent salvo in a long-running argument between the two creatures.  
  
Thus, he missed the fun of watching his rival get smacked several meters away by the sudden opening of the rose garden door:  
  
"OH-HOHOHOHO...*sniff* ...Ohhhh..."  
  
Kunou Kodachi had just found heaven.  
  
Roses of nearly every size and description, sweet and potent of fragrance, stared back at her wherever she looked. She closed her eyes and drank in the scent, feeling herself go slightly weak in the knees from the comforting intoxication it produced in her. She opened them and gloried in the sight of vines tendrilling up the latticework of the birdcage, of brilliant red, oranges, yellows, blues(!) and so many variations thereupon. It was so much like Eden, she was sorely tempted to tear off her seifuku and dance naked through the greenhouse. Here she was home, among her dearest friends...  
  
"Oh... hello there."   
  
And among strangers, as well. She'd completely forgotten about that. Caught by surprise in mid-exultation, Kodachi nearly collapsed in a heap. As it was, she was merely knocked severely off-balance, arms and legs flailing to prevent herself from toppling over. It wasn't until she had sufficiently righted herself that the voice spoke again. "I'm sorry about that... I hope I didn't surprise you too badly."  
  
Kodachi suppressed a growl. That the girl had startled her was bad enough... that she should gloat over it was unforgivable.  
  
But she wasn't about to let this girl know any of that. She turned around with a gentle (for her) laugh. "OHOHOHOHOHO... Surprise *moi*? Certainly not, my dear. I..." and she trailed off momentarily as she assessed her adversary. Nearly a head shorter than her, bespectacled, dark skinned... obviously a foreigner, most likely an Indian, judging from the bhindi on her forehead. And purple hair... what *was* it with foreigners? Did they *all* have purple hair?  
  
The girl cocked her head slightly, as if waiting for Kodachi to continue. Her smile was broad enough to crinkle her eyes shut. "Yes?"  
  
"I..." Oh, hell... time for a little honesty. Maybe. "I was just so... *impressed* by this little place. Such *beautiful* roses you have here."  
  
"Why, thank you." Apart from opening her eyes, the girl's face showed no change in expression.  
  
"You know, I used to raise roses myself... perhaps I could help you out? Maybe we could share gardening tips...?"  
  
"Oh, that's not necessary, sempai. I can manage."  
  
"Oh, but I *insist*... after all, there are a few varieties that you don't have here..."  
  
At this, the girl actually blinked. "Pardon?"  
  
Kodachi continued to inspect the greenhouse. "Yes, you're missing a few things... granted, you have some varieties even *I've* never seen before." As if to illiustrate her point, she bent over to caress a blue rose. No trick of the light, it really was blue like a clear June sky. Strange, indeed. Kodachi straightened up, and stared her opponent square in the eye. "But you haven't *any* black roses."  
  
"Black... roses?" It was clearly a question, but whether it came from confusion or nervousness or simple inquiry could not be determined by either her tone nor her expression.   
  
Kodachi fought back a rising irritation. "Yes, black roses. I've bred a few in my time... surely we could plant some in here? Say... these, for instance?" And she suddenly produced a large bouquet of black roses: Limosines, La Negresses, Mourning Glories, as well as a handful of varieties that she had created herself and had yet to name; and presented them to the girl.  
  
"Why, they're beautiful..."  
  
*whoomf*  
  
The girl blinked a number of times as the cloud of paralysis powder enveloped her. Her smile returned as the cloud began to dissipate. "My... they're dusty, too. You must have brought these all the way from Tokyo, too, ne? Perhaps we should rinse them off outside before planting them, shall we?"   
  
It was Kodachi who stood paralyzed in shock as Anthy Himemiya walked out of the greenhouse, still clutching the roses.  
  
Why didn't she...?  
  
***  
  
Unobserved in the darkness, several drops fell from nowhere. They landed on the rose in the eerily-lit tank, and slowly, several more petals began to open.  
  
***  
  
It wasn't quite the same as it used to be...  
  
But Ranma couldn't put his finger on what was different.  
  
*tup*tup*tup* "Hey, hurry up, Akane!"  
  
*shh*... *shh*... *shh*... "A-are you kidding? whoa... whoa... ah-AH-ah... huu..." Arms whirling like a pair of out-of-control windmills, Akane righted herself on the fence. "Get BACK here, you baka! I can't go that fast!" Already, Ranma had spun on his toes and turned back, grinning.  
  
And not a moment too soon, as Akane found herself overbalancing again. "oh, no... no... RANMAAA-oof!"  
  
"Gotcha." If it wasn't for the fact that his grin was so smug, Akane might have been grateful. But then again...  
  
"Uh, Ranma?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"How saved am I if we're *both* about to fall?"  
  
"Huh? Wha-wha-WAAAA!" *booooshj*  
  
Suddenly, Akane was a lot less grateful. But at least Ranma was a lot less smug.  
  
***  
  
*squish*squish*squish*squish*  
  
"Y'know, you really shouldn't try fencewalking until you're ready for it."  
  
"I WAS ready! What I *wasn't* ready for was your running off like that!" The two girls didn't notice the trails left by the water trickling from the hem of their shirt and skirt, respectively.  
  
"Hey, how else you gonna learn to walk by yourself?" Each stride bowed the stream in or out as the fabric swayed around their hips.  
  
"Couldn't you at least *spot* me the first time? That's how they do it in gym class." The pattern trailing behind them formed a series of snakelike curves, like tendrils of a vine.  
  
"This ain't gymnastics, Akane, this is martial arts. And if my old man never spotted me, why do I gotta do that for you?" And where other droplets splashed onto the ground from their hair or shoulders, the impact left the unmistakable mark of a rose.  
  
"Well, because I'm... I'm..." Words failed Akane as she rejected the two obvious answers - 'I'm a girl', 'I'm your fiancee' - as undesirable. Her face hardened. "Fine, then." She turned aside from Ranma, and faced the fence once again. Ranma stopped short as she realized Akane was no longer walking alongside her.  
  
"What are you...?" A stupid question, Ranma realized as soon as she released the words. Akane was gonna prove she could do it without help, just to show that she was every bit as good as he was... in spite of all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Well, there was no stopping her, as she took a deep breath, and LEAPED onto the fence.  
  
Akane wobbled back and forth on the fence, but this time she was silent. Finally, she righted herself, and began slowly edging her way forward. "Hmph."  
  
"I still say, if you're not ready..."  
  
"Shut *up*, Ranma..."  
  
***  
  
It wasn't quite the same as it used to be...  
  
"If the eggshell doesn't break, the chick will die without being born..."  
  
Saionji being gone was one thing... hell, he was hardly ever there even when he *was* here.  
  
"The chamber of freedom and the cage of freedom..."  
  
But it just didn't sound right without Touga. That sonorous voice... it made it all seem like a pronoucement from On High. Now, it just sounded strident.  
  
"...without showing the vastness of the skies, they cherish the chick."  
  
And it didn't even make sense anymore.  
  
"Break the world's cage!"  
  
Oh, all right... all together now: "For the revolution of the world!"   
  
It had gotten awfully perfunctory. And the fact that the letters from End of the World had dried up didn't help. There was really no reason for these meetings anymore, was there?  
  
"So... now you know what it feels like, eh, Nanami? You can stop asking us about it."  
  
Nanami gingerly placed a hand over her breastbone as a shrill whistle blew nearby. "I... I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"No, I don't suppose you do." Juri stifled a wry smile. It was fun to tease Nanami, after all the time she had pestered herself and Miki about having swords drawn from their chests, just like the Rose Bride. It served her right.  
  
But since Juri didn't want to talk about the experience, either, there was only so much teasing she could do. A soccer ball bounced and rolled to a stop at her feet, and without even bothering to look at it, she kicked in back in the direction from which it came.  
  
"Well then, there's still the matter of someone trying to kill the Rose Bride." Miki changed the subject. His face took on a woundedly puzzled look. "But why on earth would anyone want to hurt Anthy Himemiya?" Another whistle, and this time, a black-sleeved hand slapped a yellow card on the table. None of the Student Council paid it any attention. "She's so sweet and innocent..."  
  
Juri cut him off. "Miki, it has nothing to do with what Anthy is like. It's all a matter of who she is. My best guess? Someone else wants to be the Rose Bride, and for whatever reason, this is how they intend to succeed her."  
  
"Well, here's hoping they don't succeed. I don't care much for Anthy, but outright murder..."  
  
FWEET! The same dark hand placed a red card on the table. "Number?"  
  
"Three."  
  
"Right. Off you go."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
And suddenly, the balcony was empty.  
  
***  
  
*tp*tp*tp*pnk*shrrr*pnk*tup*  
  
A spiral of ribbon wound and unwound around her as she somersaulted through the air, completing a warmup floor routine in an effort to burn off some nervous energy. She was vaguely aware of the gathering presence of her 'class,' but shut them out until she stuck her final landing, to no small applause.   
  
She looked around at her awestruck classmates in wonder. She had always wanted to be the center of attention when she was at St. Hebereke's; always cutting loose with her echoey trademark laugh, always spraying black rose petals hither and thither, that sort of thing. But here at Ohtori, she needed to do no such things to get noticed... all she had to do was what she did best, and it was noticed. And *applauded*. It was refreshing, and it was wonderful.  
  
So why did she feel so uneasy?   
  
She decided to chalk it up to the suddenness of being thrust into a quasi-teaching position less than a week into her first term here. It was time to put on her game face and get on with things. She was Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose of... of Ohtori... and she had a class of neophyte gymnasts to whip into shape.  
  
And if that had to be meant literally, well then, so be it.  
  
***  
  
There was a curiously metronomic feel to the sound of the springboard as each girl took her turn on the vaults. Daisuke found himself less and less able to concentrate on basketball with each squeak of the board. It was pretty much inevitable, then, that...  
  
*whack!*  
  
*ponk*ponk*png*png*prrrrrr...   
  
A boy with unruly brown hair passed by him to retreive the ball, whacking him on the back of head as he crossed behind him. "Geez, man, couldja keep yer mind on the game for once? You wanna flunk P.E. just 'cause you can't keep your eyes off the girls?"  
  
Other than the involuntary buckle when Hiroshi slapped him, Daisuke didn't move. "Sorry," he replied in a tone that was anything but, "but she's really getting good, isn't she?" At that moment, Akane launched herself over the vault with a simple handspring.  
  
"Yeah, she has. She really wants to make the team this year. And what with Kuno's creepy sister moving out, we might have a shot at the regionals, too." Hiroshi tucked the ball under his arm and joined his compadre is watching the girls practice.  
  
Daisuke nodded. "They say Ranma's been training her a bit, too. Wonder what kind of moves they've been working on together..." The two boys looked over at Ranma, who was already glaring at them for reasons other than that they were talking about him.  
  
Suddenly, a whistle blew shrilly in their ears, and the ball was snatched from Hiroshi's grasp. "Awright, you pair of walking hormones... I want you to go take a coupla cold showers, AFTER you do five laps around the campus." The coach's bellowing voice drowned out any possible protests from the boys. "I don't wanna hear anything from you two, I just wanna see ya run... now GET GOING!" He blew his whistle a second time for emphasis.  
  
The boys got.  
  
***  
  
In the locker rooms, shadows fell across curtains.  
  
"Did you know? Did you know that anyone could be so fast?" The girl speaking brought a hand up to her head. Tattered strips of red cloth fell from her hair. "Ohh, my poor ribbon! Now I'll need to get a new one!"  
  
The pigtailed girl next to her stifled a groan. "Had you heard? Had you heard she was so vicious a competitor?" Her right arm was held up just over her left breast, where her leotard had been slashed, while she gazed at an angry scratchmark on her right leg. "Maybe we picked the wrong time to get involved with the gymnastics team..."  
  
"You're not going to give up now, are you?" the girl with the tattered ribbon demanded. She clasped her hands to her chest, and tilted her head skyward "We need to perservere..."  
  
"We only got into this for the phys ed credit, Eiko, remember? You said we needed to be limber for the sake of-"  
  
"For the sake of our *art*, yes!" Eiko's voice pitched higher, into a hyperdramatic trill. "And for the sake of *art*, one must suffer now and again." She set her hands upon the other girl's shoulder, cupping the slash with both hands. There was a feverish look on her face as she gazed into her companion's eyes. "We *will* be better for it. Anything so painful *must* be good for us."  
  
"Well..." The pigtailed girl dropped her gaze to the floor.  
  
"Promise me that you'll stand fast."  
  
"...all right. But I wonder..."   
  
"You wonder? What is it you wonder?"  
  
"I wonder... is this worth it... even for a championship?"  
  
***  
  
Elsewhere in the locker room, a solitary girl stepped out of the shower. She towelled herself off, tied her hair back, and looked herself over. Not a single mark from Kuno-sempai's punishing lash.  
  
Silently, she put on her seifuku, and as she slipped out of the locker room, she adjusted her headband, humming a curious oom-pah-pah tune to herself.  



End file.
